


Of all the stars my eyes beheld (there were none as bright as you)

by goodbyebluesky



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate-Universe, Angst and Romance, Blood, Brutality, Domesticity, Drama and Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Eventual violence, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Force-use, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Jedi Code, Jedi Training, Lightsaber use, M/M, Mechanics, Mutilation, Pets, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, References to Fandom Lore, Robotics, Romance, Scare Tactics, Spaceships, Torture, Violence, memory repression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:59:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5733973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodbyebluesky/pseuds/goodbyebluesky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rey lands on Ahch-To, she expects Luke Skywalker to teach her in the Force. </p><p>She doesn't expect a girl called Nova Grey to knock the breath out of her lungs and do it instead. </p><p>*<br/>Rey takes a breath; she feels like it’s being ripped from her lungs without her permission. </p><p>“I’m Rey,” She says, feeling something in her eyes harden, refusing to back down from the challenge, “And I’m the Hero of the Resistance.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> The story begins in the final scene for Episode VII: The Force Awakens. 
> 
> It focuses mainly on Rey's Jedi training; the control she learns to yield over her powers and how she recovers from the events on StarKiller Base. This recovery is aided by Nova, and the romance aspect comes in to play as their relationship progresses.
> 
> This is my first fic for Star Wars. I hope you all enjoy- Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. 
> 
> Love, goodbyebluesky.

_i. REY .i_

The air seems to hum when Rey crests the rise, and she finds herself in a large, open space, with paved stone underfoot, bordered by green that stretches for miles and miles and meets the blue of the ocean.

She pauses to take a breath, and narrows her eyes against the sunlight as she takes the landscape in. The planet is beautiful, and Rey smiles.

But she is not alone.

A figure sits hunched over what looks like a heap of feathers and mechanical parts, and Rey barely manages another step before the figure springs to her feet and approaches her.

It’s a girl, tall and elegant, her skin the colour of light soil, and her hair darker. Her fingers are smeared with dark grease. She wears a light-grey flight suit, unbuttoned and folded at the waist, showing the dark blue tank-top underneath. Her arms and legs, too, are covered in the same grease as on her hands.

“Ah!” The girl crows, pleasant, and wipes her hands on the material of her flight suit, “You’ve arrived! I was wondering how long it would take you to get here!”

Rey’s expression morphs from surprise to confusion and then unease as the girl takes one of her hands into two of hers, and shakes heartily. Her grip is warm, and solid, and infused with enthusiasm. Rey notices that her eyes are a startling blue.

“Excuse me?” Rey says, unsure whether this is the right response, and the girl’s grin grows impossibly wider.

“You’re her, right?” The girl asks, and lets go of Rey’s hand, “The Hero of the Resistance?”

Rey blushes, and looks at the ground. When she raises her eyes again, the girl looks at her with that same grin, and quiet intensity; and she hasn’t stepped away.

“I’m no hero,” She says, swallowing past the lump in her throat. The girl shrugs, her smile dying away as she looks at the water behind Rey.  

“You came here on _the_ Millennium Falcon, didn’t you?” The girl asks, meeting Rey’s eyes again. Rey nods. The girl’s smile, which had disappeared only moments before, comes back in full force.

“I travelled on a replica ship once,” She says, her voice heavy with pride, “ _Everyone_ wanted one after the war, you know. And it was a damn good one too, until we got boarded by Hapanese pirates and the plasma emitters flooded with oil.”

“Who are you?” Rey says; her nose scrunched up in confusion, before the girl has a chance to go on.

The girl’s eyes snap up to hers, and she smirks like Rey has surprised her. She takes a step back, and bows graciously. “Nova Shael of New Alderaan; It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She says, and steps in close again, close enough for Rey to see the fractures of white inside the girl’s irises. Her eyes twinkle with mischief, and her left cheek dimples under the weight of her smile.

“And you are?” Nova says, her voice suddenly an octave lower, but the mischief still firmly rooted in her eyes. Rey takes a breath; she feels like it’s being ripped from her lungs without her permission.

“I’m Rey,” She says, feeling something in her eyes harden, refusing to back down, “And I’m the Hero of the Resistance.”

Nova steps back, her smirk breaking into a full smile, and she releases a loud laugh. Rey feels like she’s passed some sort of test, and the sudden influx of tension ebbs away as Nova laughs.

Nova claps her hands together. “Well played, Hero,” She says, with that same glint in her eye.

“I’m looking for Luke Skywalker,” Rey says, straightening her spine.

Nova inclines her head, and a smirk curls the corners of her lips. “Alright, Rey,” She says, her accent twisting the shape and sound of Rey’s name, “I’ll take you to him.”

Then she turns and walks away, and beckons for Rey to follow. Rey watches Nova’s back, and pauses for another moment before hoisting her staff onto her shoulder and following Nova’s lead. There is a swagger to the other girl’s steps, a swing in her hips and shoulders that radiates confidence; and Rey wonders how it got there.

They walk past the heap of feathers and parts, and Rey sees that it’s a large bird, roan and grey; its wings spread and legs in the air, and its chest opened through the centre with the metal of the mechanics underneath glinting in the sunlight.

She barely has the time to form a question about it before she and Nova pass the bird, and the opportunity goes away. If Nova lives on the island, which Rey suspects she does; she’ll always have another opportunity to ask her about it. She keeps quiet.

Nova slows her pace as they ascend a set of stone steps, and Rey matches her pace to walk beside her.

“When the Empire died out after the fall of the second Death Star,” Nova says, as though she’s taken Rey’s movement as a sign, “Luke set out to restore the Jedi Order from their own ashes, and-”

“I’ve heard the stories,” Rey interrupts, causing Nova to pause and turn around and look at her, her eyes as inscrutable as the sky. She looks like she hadn’t expected to be interrupted, and Rey can’t help but take pride in unseating the arrogant girl, if only for a moment.  

“Do you know what happened after?” Nova asks, cocking her head to the side; her tone unreadable.

Rey nods. Nova shrugs, like she concedes Rey a point. She resumes walking, and Rey follows her pace.

“He travelled to Tython to train the new generation of Jedi,” Rey says, counting the cracks in the stone as she steps over them. Beside her, Nova looks out towards the landscape, the corner of her mouth hinged in a smirk.

“But one of his students was seduced by the Dark Side,” Rey continues, breaking off at the end of the sentence to suck in a breath through her teeth. Again, Nova stops and turns to look at her.

Rey’s unease must be showing on her face, because Nova steps in close and puts a hand on her shoulder in a show of support. “-And killed his fellow students,” Nova finishes for her, when Rey’s mouth can’t form the words, “That’s right. How do you know that?”

Rey swallows past the lump in her throat, looks at the ground and works her jaw. “Traveller’s tales,” She eventually says, “I never believed in any of them.”

She raises her eyes, and Nova’s are right there to look into.

“But you do now,” Nova says, and it sounded like she’s guessing. Rey holds the other girl’s gaze. There is no use in pretending. Nova’s guessed right. She’s terrified.

Images swim in front of her eyes and tears bead at the corners. She looks away from Nova, and out towards the horizon. There is a heavy weight in her stomach and a haze in front of her eyes. She tries to forget.

She fails.

“You’re doing much better than he did, you know,” Nova says, and releases Rey’s shoulder. Rey puffs out a laugh and wipes at her eyes, and feels slightly better. The weight clears, if only a little.

“Anyways,” Nova continues, resuming her pace and allowing Rey to catch up, “Luke came here to find the first Jedi temple, and he found it. If you’re here without the First Order gunning you down- I’m guessing that StarKillerBase 1 is no more.”

Rey nods. Nova quirks a grin.

“For all that’s worth, I’m glad you’re here,” Nova says, and the admission makes Rey’s stomach erupt in a light feeling that she’s never experienced before.

They crest another hill, and Nova stops. “It used to be just Jesper and I; it’s nice to have someone else around,” she says, and her eyes are bright. Rey looks at her, and doesn’t doubt that she’s speaking the truth. “I feel like it’s about to get a lot more interesting.”

Rey smiles, and Nova’s eyes light up even brighter. She puts her hand on Rey’s bicep, and the gesture sends warmth rippling through her.

“He’s over the hill,” Nova says, jerking her head up over Rey’s shoulder at the final rise. Rey follows the other girl’s line of sight, and nods.

Nova quirks another grin. “I’ll see you around, Hero.”

And then she turns around, and leaves Rey to walk the final distance to where her destiny is waiting. The lightsaber in her bag suddenly feels a lot heavier. Nevertheless, Rey straightens her shoulders, and shoots a backwards look to where Nova’s walking away.

She turns around.

She crests the hill.

\----------

Nova can’t help but smirk as she walks away.

_Oh yes. She can’t wait to get her hands dirty._


	2. II

_ii. NOVA .ii_

It’s well after midsun when Nova gets Jesper working again. The moment she does, he hips around on the spot, straightening his legs and squawking loudly enough for the next star-system to hear. The splotchy roan of his coat shines in the dying light of the sun, and Nova wants to high five herself so hard for fashioning a new alternator out of practically nothing.

She’s pretty much the best mechanic that’s ever lived.

Nova sits up on her knees and rests back against her heels, and grins wildly as Jesper hops around on both feet (much better than the previous _one,_ mind). He lets out a series of sharp clicks and hums and Nova bursts out in laughter as she considers what he said.

She presses her hands to her heaving stomach, and Jesper head-butts her affectionately. “I don’t care what you say!” Nova says, tapping him on his feet, “Your new alternator rules!”

Jesper lets out another set of low clicks and beeps, and Nova rears back like she’s offended.

“Hey!” She yells, “I happen to be _great_ at fixing you up, you heap of trash! You just undo all of my work!”

Jesper pecks at her shoulder with his beak, soft enough not to do any damage, but Nova swats him aside. He whistles loudly, and Nova fixes him to the spot with a glare. “Yes, I do! Every damn time!” She says.

Jesper lets out another squawk and fluffs his feathers proudly. Nova pushes him backwards by gently prodding his chest with two fingers. “Sod off, you peacock,” She says. Jesper whistles like he’s insulted, hops along, and then flies off.

Nova watches him go, her pride a hot ball in the centre of her chest. She lets out a satisfied breath, and begins to clean up her tools.

“What kind of a droid is he?” Asks a voice behind her, and Nova whirls around.

It’s Rey.

Nova’s heart beats wild in her chest, and she smiles to alleviate the burn.

“Jesper?” she asks. Rey’s leaning against her staff, and forms a lean diagonal from staff to ground. Nova takes a moment to appreciate the view.

“You’re not concerned with what kind of bird he is?” Nova questions, by means of answering, and locks her eyes back onto Rey’s.

Rey shrugs and picks up her staff, and walks down the steps to where Nova is still sitting on the floor. Nova looks up at Rey once she gets there. She’s staring into the sky, the contours of her face lit up by the sun.

Nova has to bite back a grin at the look on Rey’s face.

Rey scoffs. “He used some _very_ colourful language- and I don’t speak bird,” She says. Now Nova can’t help the grin, and it stretches from corner to corner, and it’s so wide it _hurts._

Rey is looking at the haphazard parts on the ground, mismatched and dirty. Nova wonders if Rey notices the grease on her hands, the dirt pushed up under her nails like it’ll never leave.

“I imagine he would be happy with that new alternator, though,” Rey says, and Rey’s praise feels like a welcome draft of cool air. She beams, and straightens her spine.

“Of course he is,” She says, swagger heavy in her tone, “ _I_ made it.”

Rey smiles and sits down next to Nova, and unfolds her legs. Nova shoots Rey a sideways glance, and sees the lack of tension in her body- like whatever was blocking her up before had gone.

Nova looks up at Jesper, and finds herself lost in thought.

“His memory and computing disks are still under a lot of strain from the mechanics in his chest- the whole thing needs to be re-circuited,” She said, following Jesper’s movement with her eyes.

“You’d need to make a new bracket for the electronics, wouldn’t you?” Rey asks her, and looks at from the side. Nova meets her eyes, and nods, and then looks back at her heap of parts. Absently, she wipes her fingers on the pants of her flight-suit.

“I’d need metal for that,” Nova argues, gestures towards her pile and then the surrounding landscape, “But there’s not a whole lot of that out here.”

“Could you use the Force?” Rey asks, and Nova whips her head around to stare at Rey. She has to choke down the overwhelming desire to smile, wider than she ever has at _the wonderful nerve of this girl, really-_

Nova shakes her head, and the smile peeks through. She looks into Rey’s eyes, and then shakes her head again. Amusement twinkles in her eyes.

“The way I understand it,” Nova says, and looks back out at the sunset, “The Force is like a river. You can twist the current- speed it up or slow it down- to make it do what you want.”

She pauses then, and looks at her hand. She splays her fingers, palm facing the sky and raises it, and some of Jesper’s parts levitate off the ground and fly over to her to drop into her hand. She focuses on the metal parts, at the way her concentration makes them tremble, and tries to ignore the way she can feel Rey’s eyes boring into the side of her head.

“It can change what’s already there,” She continues, “But can’t create what’s not. The energy may be manipulated, but not created.”

She looks to the side, and sucks in a breath at the way Rey’s looking at her. The burn in her chest is back, and she smiles to lessen it.

“Wait!” Rey interrupts, before Nova can go on. Nova drops her hand, and the parts scatter on the paved ground. She falls silent, and tries not to laugh at the potent enthusiasm on Rey’s face. It’s wonderful.

“Yes?” She questions, and tries to hold back her laugh.

“You’re like me?” Rey asks, her eyes blown wide open, the pupils swallowing the iris, and the corners of her mouth curled in the slightest smile. Nova wonders if Rey’s ever been so hopeful as she must be now.

She’s quickly realised that this scrap of a girl is making her feel things she’s tried very hard not to feel.

Nova opens her mouth with a smirk, and straightens her spine. “Well,” She says, her voice once again heavy with swagger, “One needs to only look at our appearances to know we are _nothing_ alike, but-”

“No!” Rey exclaims, and smacks Nova’s bicep as if they’re old friends, “Not like that!” Nova’s smirk melts into a grin, disarmed by the look in Rey’s eyes.

“I meant that-” Rey breaks off, the width of her smile shutting off her speech, “Are you a Jedi?”

Her voice is low and reverent, trembling with trepidation and shot through with anxiety; like she’s both excited and afraid to hear the answer.

Nova is silent, and looks at her in pure wonder.

“I’m _‘Pro Initio’_ ,” She says, breaking the silence in two, “Past the initial stages of my training. I meditate in the Force, and I balance my mind, and I train my body. There are still many things for me to learn.”

“Can you show me something?” Rey asks, and Nova can’t find the right words to refuse her.

She nods, eagerly, and makes a show of sitting on her hands. Then she looks at Rey again, and quirks an eyebrow. “Ready?” She asks, and raises the parts. Rey’s eyes shift from hers to the parts that are levitating in the air, higher than they did before.

The smile on Rey’s face is the best praise she’s ever gotten. Nova follows her line of sight and follows the parts around as they begin to orbit the two of them. She shoots Rey a sideways grin, and the metal objects begin to weave in and out of the spaces between her body and Rey’s. When Rey reaches out to touch a large nut floating past her ear, her face an expression of pure wonder, Nova needs to reach up and smother the chuckle that leaves her lips.

In the sky, Jesper lets out a loud caw; a sound that doesn’t nearly resemble a bird’s organic call, and Nova gets such a good idea that she drops the parts almost immediately and jumps to her feet.

“Hold on,” she says, puts her hand up so the palm faces Rey, and then points her finger at the other girl. “I can do one better,”

Then Nova puts two of her fingers in her mouth and whistles, and Jesper immediately changes his course to head for her. She turns around as Jesper flies back towards her, and smiles at Rey; and wonders whether Rey’s enjoying this as much as she is.

She’s amused, Nova sees. At least there’s _that_.

Jesper lands on the ground, and hips towards her on two feet. Nova grins at him, and feels another surge of pride rush through her.

She shoots Rey another look. “Okay,” She says, barely able to keep herself together, “Watch.”

Rey smiles at her, and nods her head in encouragement, and Nova’s grin widens. She looks Jesper in the eye, and concentrates. “Jesper,” She says, and her voice carries a weight it didn’t before. The bird stops hopping around and stands stock-still, and trains one of his eyes on her. “You’re a chicken,” Nova says, and watches how Jesper seems to straighten at her words.

Then he shudders, fluffs his feathers, and _clucks_.

Rey bursts into laughter, and Nova follows straight after when Jesper begins to wave his wings and strut around and _cluck_ like he’s a chicken- complete with erratic head movements.

Nova looks at Rey; at the way her entire body heaves as she laughs, how her mouth widens and opens and closes with the bubbles of laughter that leave her chest; how her energy seems to change in an instant, into something Nova would very much like to get to know better.

Her concentration slips and Jesper returns to normal, and shakes his head, disconcerted, and this makes Rey laugh even harder. When she finally stops laughing that full belly-shaking laugh of hers-

-A laugh that Nova’s _loving_ , by the way-

She releases a satisfied sigh and leans back against her hands, and Nova takes a seat next to her. She looks to the side, and sucks in a breath through her teeth.

Rey looks like at her like she’s put the stars in the sky.

Nova’s heart slams against her ribs when she notices the tiny beaded tears at the corners of Rey’s eyes. Pride rushes through her.

She made Rey laugh loud enough to _cry._

Yup. She’s the best.

Nova smiles, as disarmingly as she can. “Well,” She says, and lets her eyes linger on Rey’s lips a moment too long, “I can do _that._ ”

Rey sucks in another breath, and the breaks eye-contact to look out over the ocean. As her head turns, Nova sees the curve of Rey’s smile still ghosting on her face. Her heart clenches, and she looks out towards the sun.

“I’d like to learn how to do that,” Rey says. Nova smirks, but it feels more like a smile, and nods as the sun slips below the horizon.

She puts her hand on top of Rey’s, and squeezes.

Rey squeezes back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at goodbyeobuesky- feel free to drop in and come say Hello!


	3. III

_III._

The hut is dug in snugly against the slope of the hill.

The sun has long gone under, and the laugh that Rey laughed exists as an echo in the air.

Nova is leading the way at her side, with Jesper perched proudly on her shoulder. There’s still that same swing to her shoulders, to her hips, and Rey is almost certain it never leaves. It seems to be a permanent part of Nova, the same way Rey’s hair is a part of her. It’s almost fascinating to watch.

Nova leads her down a set of stone steps, into a shadowy landing. A metal door obscures what may lie beyond it, and Rey feels her pulse quicken in her veins. Nova pauses and looks at her, and quirks that same, mischievous grin, and then opens the door.

Jesper flies off her shoulder, into the shadowy space, and Nova follows. Rey is left looking at the spot of black, her mind echoing with dark memories and things she’d rather not see- when she feels a soft tug on her wrist, and she steps into the darkness.

A light clicks on, and Rey is left to look at the space.

There is a small, kerosene lamp hanging off the stone ceiling, spreading a merry light around the small hut. A dead fireplace is built into the far wall, with wood stacked in a neat pile along the floor beneath it. Other dimmer fluorescent lights are installed in the walls on either side of the door, and they blink into existence.  

The space itself is relatively small. The hut, if Rey were to make an assumption, would be around 5 by 7 metres square, but the ceiling is high. The walls on either side of the door are made of metal, the far and closest wall of stone. The room feels like it was manufactured instead of natural, but Rey likes the amalgamation of stone and metal. In an odd way, it fits.

The hut feels _lived in,_ more than anything else; from the nuts, bolts and parts covering the surface of the table in the centre of the room, to the grease-stained clothes flung over the curved couch in the far right corner. There’s a queen-sized bunk built into the wall to Rey’s right, and even _it_ is covered in pieces of scribbled-on parchment.

She takes the space in because she’s never seen anything like it, the sheer amount of personal belongings; the way everything seems to have its own place, even when it looks like it’s been thrown there.

The bunk built into the wall on her left however, seems to be completely devoid of the chaos that the rest of the room is experiencing. Rey feels a sudden spot of warmth bloom in her chest when she realises that the bunk she’s looking at is _hers._

She realises she’s been standing on the doorstep for longer than she thought when Nova bursts back into her line of sight and smirks at her. “Are you planning on making a hobby out of leaning against things?” She says, and gestures at the way Rey is leaning against the doorjamb.

Rey looks down at her feet, suddenly self-conscious, steps fully into the room and pulls the door closed behind her. She feels a sharp prick of daring in her chest, and raises her chin. “I might,” Rey says, and watches as Nova’s eyes dampen and fill with an emotion that sends shocks through her.

Nova’s eyes flick up and down the length of her body, and Rey doesn’t understand why it heats her up from the inside out. “I bet you could make it work,” Nova says.

Rey feels a smile stretch over her lips.

Then Nova bangs her hands on the metal table in front of her, and the heat suffused in the air dissipates. Rey takes a breath and rubs her sternum to alleviate the burn that’s arisen there.

“You must be hungry!” Nova says, and skips off towards the kitchenette in the further corner. Rey is dumbstruck as she watches her go, unable to fathom how Nova can transition in between personality types as if she’s clicking her fingers.

“What would you like?” Nova asks, bent over a drawer and rifling through with eager fingers. Rey moves towards the centre of the room, and is unsure how she’s to answer. She’s never had any choice in her rations. In fact, she’s never eaten more than twice a day. She reaches the table in the centre of the room, and waits.

Nova’s turned around again, her hands poised on top of her drawer, and her eyebrows raised as she waits for an answer. “I’ve got powered soup, powdered bread,” She pauses and reads the label on one of the packets, and then gasps, “Ooh! Powered steak!”

Rey grins.

Nova closes the drawer and clicks open another one. “I’ve got some canned stew, too. Thickened stuff, with meat inside,” She says, and Rey hears her stomach growl, “I usually save it for special occasions; I think this qualifies.”

Rey pulls out a chair and takes another opportunity to look around the room. Her staff bangs awkwardly against the chair when she tries to sit down and take it all in, and she flushes red when Nova turns around at the sound and smirks at her.

“You can put that away, you know,” She says, and Rey wonders if Nova’s mischief ever leaves her, too, “Your bunk’s just over there.”

Nova points at the bunk to Rey’s left, the one devoid of all personal touch, and Rey feels another spot of warmth. She stands and leans her staff against the wall, across the opening for her bed. Then she walks back to her chair and sits down and stares Nova dead in the eye.

Nova’s grin feels like praise in itself, and although she doesn’t say anything, the weights of her unspoken words settle gently on Rey’s shoulders.

She turns around and does... _something_. Rey doesn’t actually know if she can call it _cooking_ as much as _art_ , not with the way Nova’s throwing things around; cans and spoons and butane lights and lighters, all juggled together and whizzing around with lightning speed and impossible flair. Rey wonders whether Nova is doing this for show, too.

Nova shoots her a grin over her shoulder, and Rey doesn’t have to wonder anymore.

Jesper flies through the room and takes part in Nova’s strange dance, and Rey feels more entertained than anything else as she watches him swoop and swerve through the air, catching things in his claws or beak when Nova hurls them towards the ceiling.

Rey finds herself laughing and clapping along, participating when Nova throws her things to hold, or Jesper drops things into her hands; before throwing them back.

The dynamic in the room is lively, and Rey’s good mood persists when Nova finally puts a metal pail in front of her with a flourish, and the smells that lift out make Rey want to moan in ecstasy. She’s never smelt anything this amazing. Nova puts her own plate down opposite to Rey, and then surprises Rey by opening the door to the outside.

After a second’s delay, Jesper flies through and disappears into the night. Nova shoves something under the door to stop it from flying closed, and a cool breeze drifts through the room. Then she crosses towards the table and sits down, and grins.

“Enjoy,” She says, and gestures towards Rey’s food. Rey looks down at the orange stew, with bits of meat peeking out between fluffy-looking white specks, and she doesn’t know what to say in response. Maybe Nova’s words don’t even merit one, but Rey feels compelled to say something, to commit into words how _thankful_ she is that Nova’s accepted her with open arms, and fed her and shown her shelter and made her laugh when all she did was _arrive_.

She opens and closes her mouth, trying to look for the right words, whilst Nova watches her, silently, mouth half curved in a smirk.

Rey has never been shown this amount of kindness by anyone in her life. Not Teedo, certainly not Unkar Plott. The only people that have come even close are Finn, and Han, and Leia- and thinking about them sends pangs of heartache to the very centre of her being.

Maybe Nova was instructed by Luke to be kind to her; but Rey doesn’t even believe that theory for a second, not when Nova seems to go above and beyond her beck and call to please. She looks into the other girl’s eyes, and sees her own reflection, looking lost and a little scared, and wonders if that desire to belong inside of her will ever go away.

“Rey?” Nova asks, and Rey surfaces from the hazy realm of her mind. Nova’s eyebrows are scrunched together in a slight frown, and the smirk at the corner of her mouth has drooped to become something that resembles concern.

Rey reaches across the table and squeezes Nova’s wrist, and finally finds the words to say what she wants. Not all of them, but enough to make it _known_.

“Thank you,” She says, and she means every letter, every syllable; every word.

Nova’s eyes crinkle at the corners. She nods once, and Rey releases her wrist to grasp the cutlery in her hands. Across the table, Nova mirrors her actions.

Rey puts the first bite of stew in her mouth, chews, and swallows.

And it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at goodbyeobluesky- Feel free to drop in and say hello!


End file.
